Primer Parcial Flashcards
What is Anthropology?
Anthropology is the study of humanity, of the ancient and modern people and their ways of life.
4 subdisciplines
-Physical anthropology
-Archaeology
-Anthropological linguistics
-Cultural anthropology
physical anthropology
It studies the physical characteristics of humans through the fossils found and the distinctive features of contemporary groups.
-primatology
-human paleantology
-forensic anthropology
-population genetics
archaelogy
It is devoted to the study of material remains of past cultures. By reconstructing extinct forms of life, it seeks to know the ecological environment and the causes that led to its demise.
anthropological linguistics
studies the diversity of languages spoken by the existing human groups, attempts to reconstruct the history of their origin
-historical linguistics
cultural anthropology
Also known as social anthropology.
It refers to the analysis and description of cultures, both from the past and from human groups of today. This includes applied, medical, urban, development, religion, politics, indigenous, among other themes.
Description of other cultures and reflection on the transformation of their practices
-16th century
-Mexico and Peru
-It is known through the stories and accounts of representatives of religious orders that came along with the conquerors, such as Bernardino de Sahagún, José de Acosta, Bartolomé de las Casas and Vasco de Quiroga.
Search for scientific laws of evolution of societies and their institutions
-19th century
-Edward B. Tylor and Lewis H. Morgan,
-the unilineal evolution of society and its institutions (family, state, property and religion)
-the emergence of anthropology as a formal science
Search for scientific laws of the functioning of societies, from divergent approaches
-20th century
-professionalization of anthropology at major universities in the United States, England and France
evolutionist school
-societies shall pass through states of development, to reach a superior state
-Edward B. Tylor
concept of culture by tylor
complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, an any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society
stages of evolution of mankind
-Lower savagery
-Higher savagery
-Barbarism
-Higher stage of barbarism
-Civilization
lower savagery
collection of wild food, promiscuity, nomadic hordes
higher savagery
utensils for hunting (bow and arrows), banned marriage among siblings, and family relationships were recognized exclusively through women.
barbarism
invention of agriculture and pottery, prohibition of incest to all female offspring, clan and village formed the basic units of organization
higher barbarism
metalurgy, family relationships were traced by the male line, men married several women, private property
civilization
writing development, civil government, monogamous couple as the basis of the family.
historical particularism
every culture or society, is the consequence of its own particular process which result of the sum of the aspects who have been build it through the pass of time.
diffusionism
cultures adopted their elements by imitation. the most ancient cultures are the centers of origin from which, over time, techniques and knowledge have been transmitted or distributed.
neoevolutionism
the existence of a cultural evolution determined by the amount of energy that could be captured and put into execution by person.
include the influence of the natural environment (climate and natural conditions of the land) with cultural factors, such as technology and the economy
french structuralism
the crux lies in the existence of a general structure (symphony), an underlying pattern common to all cultures. And what marks the difference among them is the melody, understood as the particular arrangement or interpretation that each society makes of them, where the main interest is to understand said structure.
man
The adult individual of the human species. Being endowed with intelligence and articulate speech
society
Group of people who live according to certain forms of behavior, gathered to fulfill, through mutual cooperation and common laws, all or some of the purposes of life
state
Political unit with an independent government and a centralized organization that control a defined territory.
otherness
perceiving the other puts us in the construction of the identity of the social being; identity is discovered by observing the diversity of others.
acculturation
Exchange of cultural features, a result of continuous direct contact between two groups. This contact can alter the cultural patterns of each group or both, with no group losing their differences.
enculturation
Learning process of the culture to which all human beings are exposed.
affinity
Set of relationships that link two groups through marriage, and help maintain relationships and social solidarity in groups larger than the nuclear family.
polygyny
Practice where a male person lives and has sexual relations with several women simultaneously.
ethnocentrism
judging other cultures using own cultural standards.
ego
Individual who is the central and starting point in kinship studies
empathy
Understand the other person perspective.
culture by harris
“The learned set of traditions and lifestyles, socially acquired, of the members of a society, including their patterned, repetitive ways of thinking, feeling and acting (i.e., their behavior)”
diffusionism
extends the scope of the transmission of cultural features, not only between generations, but from one society to another.
universal pattern of cultures
-infrastructure
-structure
-superstructure
infraestructure
EXTERNAL
society meets its minimum requirements for subsistence and regulates demographic growth.
family, groups of friends and in-law relationship, e.g.
structure
EXTERNAL
society is organized into groups that distribute and regulate goods and labor
companies, their employees and workers.
superstructure
INTERNAL
artistic, recreational, intellectual and religious activities
attending worship practices, the temple or church and carry out in practice the behaviors promoted by religion.
nuclear family
father, mother and children, as a result of the union of the couple
4 functions of a nuclear family
-Sexual relations (satisfies the sexual needs).
-Reproduction (protection of women during pregnancy and lactation).
-Education (transmission and persistence of culture in families).
-Subsistence (through a division, by sex, of the activities needed for subsistence, ensures the economic welfare of the family).
monogamy
man and woman
polygamy
relationships with various spouses or partners
polygyny
a man has many wives
polyandry
a woman has many husbands
t o f: polygamy is widely practiced in 90 percent of all cultures.
true
extended family
the sum of all nuclear families linked by blood ties
marriage
-legitimacy to offspring
exogamous marriage
marrying outside of indivuduals related by blood. stronger genes
genealogy
research and documentation of the relationships between families. kinship diagrams
family tree symbology
triangle: men
circle: women
dash: marriage
vertical line: offspring
horizontal line: brotherhood
circle and triangle inside: ego
myth
stories that fulfill the aim of recreating the origins of human cultures. Picking up elements of real events, they express the ideas of the group that creates them and allow them to locate in time and space of their current reality.
magic
hidden powers in nature that must be appeased through certain practices in order to get a benefit or cause misfortune
religion
the idea of God as the essence of this religious belief, and develops a concept of soul: that intangible and invisible being that coexists inside the human body.
individualist cult
Applied by any individual only following socially established instructions.
shamanist cult
Specialized character who carries out their activity from time to time and who one resorts to at difficult times.
community cult
Are held by individuals grouped by age or family of origin, and carry out activities to ensure the common good.
Ecclesiastical
Involve a full-time commitment and professionalization of the activity. It is performed by the clergy, usually associated with the ruling class of society and, therefore, with economic and political interests included.
medical anthropology
study of social perceptions of disease, and the influence of culture in the diagnosis, treatment and attention to health problems.
functionalism
The emphasis of this British current is on function; the duty of the anthropologist is to describe the functions of the customs and institutions for the society studied, means by which we come to understand its origins.
